Chris Kamara left his role on Soccer Saturday in the summer of 2022, but has now announced his return to the screen as Amazon Prime prepares to show all 10 games over the Boxing Day period
Chris Kamara is to link back up with Jeff Stelling after announcing he is joining Amazon Prime’s coverage of the Premier League.
Amazon will be screening all 10 top-flight games over Boxing Day and 27 December, as well as their popular Every Game Every Goal show. The latter is hosted by Stelling, formerly the long-standing presenter of Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday.
He worked closely with Kamara at Sky, with the latter employed as a reporter on Soccer Saturday. Kamara became hugely popular with viewers for his work, which included trademark catchphras ‘Unbelievable Jeff!’.
Kamara stepped down from Sky in the summer of 2022, with Stelling following suit a year later. But Kamara has now revealed that the duo will be linking back up on Boxing Day as he joins Prime’s punditry team.
Kamara posted on Twitter : “Best phone call ever this afternoon inviting me to do the Forest v Spurs game on Boxing Day reporting back to the Unbelievable @JeffStelling in the studio. I thought I was done, so it’s a big thank you Amazon I’m back.”
Kamara stepped down from his role at Sky a year after announcing he had been diagnosed with apraxia. The neurological disorder makes it difficult to speak, occurring when the brain has trouble planning and sequencing the muscle movements needed to produce speech.
People with Apraxia know what they want to say, but are unable to carry out the speech movements. Viewers of Soccer Saturday became concerned for Kamara after noticing he was slurring his words.
The 66-year-old, who has also worked as presenter on ITV show Ninja Warrior, has been receiving speech therapy and is on the road to recovery. But in November he spoke out about his dark days after first being diagnosed.
“I felt sorry for myself when the condition came along and I didn’t know what to do or how to cope with it,” he said in an interview with Brentford. “You have stupid thoughts. You think you’ve got Alzheimer’s or dementia. I didn’t want to be a burden to my family, so you think about taking yourself out of the game.
“Thankfully, all of those stupid thoughts have gone now and I’m working through it, on the mend. How could I ever have thought of not being in this world with my grandkids? I love them and I appreciate life.
“I didn’t understand mental health, I’ll be honest with you. If someone said there were a few problems at home or in their personal life which they’re down about, I would tell them wholeheartedly to get up, get on with it and just do it.
“Now, I realise that I was totally wrong. The majority of people who are genuinely honest and have depression, anxiety and have mental health problems need help as best as they possibly can. The start is talking to someone about it. I did that and it’s helped me immensely.”
If you or anyone you know has been affected by any of the issues mentioned in this article, you can call Samaritans for free at any time on 116 123. Alternatively, you can email [email protected].
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